Completely Normal
by HunterOfArtemis14
Summary: The bliss of denial. Percabeth. Dark Percy. Oneshot.


Annabeth couldn't believe she had missed it for so long, especially when one of her best talents was being extraordinarily perceptive. Within a single glance she could penetrate the hard mask guarding the true emotions and read the person like an open book. She knew body language as if it were the back of her hand. Rachel scratched her nose when she lied. Jason's left bicep twitched subtly, signally that he was experiencing anxiety. Leo scuffed his shoes against the ground in awkward situations.

Annabeth knew what every single tick, twitch, grin, spasm and unconscious move of a hand meant for each specific person she had met. Most times, she could recognize the emotion a person was exhibiting before they realized it themselves.

But of all people, of all people in this unfair little world in which they lived, she should have known.

Of course Annabeth had picked up on the hints. Maybe out of denial or because the timing was bad, she had dismissed them, pushing them to the back of her overworked brain and had almost forgotten. Almost.

The first sign was during the Second Titan War. The air was so thick with sweat and blood that she was choking on it. She shot her dagger upwards, slicing through the dry fur of a hellhound. Her hand was embedded deep inside of it's organs as her beloved weapon protruded from the other side. The beast exploded like a firework, caking her with another layer of grime and monster guts. Annabeth didn't even blink.

That's when she heard it.

A familiar laugh yet so foreign at the same. It was his laugh, loud and maniacal, echoing above even the sounds of battle. Annabeth stopped mid swing along with every monster in their sector.

Riptide gleamed in the air before it was brought down in a harsh move, cleanly slicing the empousa right down the middle. He spun around in an almost graceful arc. Another bark of laughter, even louder than the one before, escapes his lips. She stiffens more when the gleaming smile flashed her way. The joyous, radiant smile as if they were just spending a normal day together. Not as if they were about to die in the middle of a war.

Robotically, Annabeth lunged back into action, not daring to be still for a moment longer. She quickly depressed the worries that rose up the back of her throat like bile. She was just overreacting. Everyone was extremely tired and exhausted. They had been fighting for days on end. It was not uncommon for sleep deprivation to lead to bouts of insanity or to have unnatural reactions. In fact, it was completely normal. Annabeth nodded her head as she ducked the swing of an axe. _Completely normal_ she repeated.

The second sign was more subtle, barely noticeable really. The Great Prophecy had come to pass along with the end of the Second Titan War. The day was blistering hot and Annabeth was miserably sweaty. She sighed enviously at his single chest plate to protect his achilles heel compared to her full body armor. At least the trees provided a small source of shade.

Annabeth didn't know how she missed it. The scurrying of many legs over dead leaves and the sharp sound of pinchers in the wavered heat. Something black obscures her vision and it's suddenly gone. At her feet lays a severed scorpion tail, Riptide was drawn.

Annabeth turned, about to joke about how she owes him her life again but the sight stops her. He stands above the tailless scorpion. The sword slashed downward again but this time in movements to slow to be fatal. She realizes a moment later that he purposely missed the fatal kill. The same distinct feeling from the war had come up. A mixture of fear and doubt to shock and disbelief as she watches him.

She shook her head once again to clear it. The day was hot, sweltering hot. He's just blowing off some steam. It's completely normal. Annabeth dislodged the feelings of doubt. _Completely normal_ she repeated.

The third sign was not really a sign, but more of the alarm bells she had been ignoring since the first go around. They were right in the fiery pits of Tartarus

The blood curdling screams still echoed in Annabeth ears. She could still remember the strong fumes of the poison and the gagging of someone drowning. He was too powerful.

Nothing scared her more than the expression on his face. An expression that depicted millions of emotions, each one she could identify. Vengeance, revenge, wrath, fury, menace. The look alone made her too terrified to speak, the words getting lodged within her throat. She had to stop him. Stop him before he did something unforgivable.

She called for him, begged for him to stop and he did. He finally did. Annabeth figured that Tartarus was somehow making him stronger. That out of his desperation he was unlocking powers no one knew he could possibly posses.

His words from earlier came to mind "She died too easy, considering how much torture she put you through. She deserved worse"

So vengeful on her behalf.

Loyalty. That was his fatal flaw. It was his loyalty that drove him to such extreme lengths. To keep her safe, alive. In a way, it could be completely normal. Annabeth glanced at him from the corner of her eye, trying to convince herself of a better truth than the reality. _Completely normal _she repeated.

But now, she would die a thousand times over if she got the chance to say something at each of these moments. To help him, to bring him back. To save him. She shouldn't have ignored it. She should have done something, anything to change the outcome.

Annabeth's arm trembled violently, she tried to keep her hand steady. She could barely see through her tears.

It was Gaea's plan all along. To corrupt him with his own powers. Annabeth was just the bait to get him down to Tartarus. He was out of control and everyone knew it.

He pressed himself into the bone dagger held at his neck. Small, dark red beads of blood, his blood, swelled on the edge of the knife. Annabeth forced herself not to retract her hand.

"Do it, Annabeth." Percy's voice was dark, rough. A huge smirk dominated his features because he knew that she couldn't. He leaned farther in, his hot breath swept across her face.

She had to do it. To save the world and she can't. His eyes become visible beneath his overgrown messy hair. They were no longer a bright sea green, exhibiting confidence and happiness. They were like the ocean after a storm. Still utterly breathtaking and hypnotic, but murky. It was not Percy, not her Percy.

Annabeth had to convince him, to bring the real Percy back to her. She had to save him or die trying. So they could be together again. So everything could back to the way it was. So they would have a chance to be completely normal.


End file.
